Potentilla argyrophylla - Silver-Leaved Cinquefoil

Silver-Leaved Cinquefoil is a beautiful Himalayan wildflower with clear yellow flowers and slivery strawberry-like leaves. Flowering stems are erect or basally slightly curved, 15-20 cm tall, together with leaf-stalks densely silvery velvety and hairy. Basal leaves are 5-10 cm including the stalk. Stipules are brown, membranous, silky white on the underside, later hairless. Leaves are 3-foliolate, with stalkless leaflets, obovate, elliptic, or broadly ovate, 1.5-2 × 1-1.5 cm. Leaflets are densely silvery on both sides. Base is wedge-shaped or broadly so, margin sharply toothed, tip blunt. Stem leaves are 2 or 3, shortly stalked, small. Stipules are green, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, herbaceous, velvet-hairy on the underside, margin entire, tip long-pointed. Flowers are borne in groups 2 or 3 at branch ends. Flowers are about 2 cm in diameter, carried on 2-2.5 cm long stalk. Sepals are triangular-lanceshaped, tip long-pointed. False sepals are elliptic-ovate or elliptic-lanceolate, nearly equaling sepals. Petals are yellow, sometimes purple at base, inverted-heart-shaped, about twice as long as sepals, tip markedly notched. Stamens are yellow or purple. Style is subterminal, yellow or purple. Silver-Leaved Cinquefoil is found in the Himalayas, from Afghanistan, Kashmir, Nepal, Pakistan, to Sikkim. Flowering: June-August.